Trematic ZY6 Review: Seven Dials, One Very Good Deal
Seven Dials, One Very Good Deal
Microbrand pricing has been drifting upwards for a while now. A Swiss automatic in a well-finished steel case, the sort of thing that used to sit comfortably in three-figure territory, now regularly asks for four. So when a Swiss Made watch with a Sellita inside, a domed sapphire crystal, and 100 metres of water resistance turns up at $825 / €750, I pay attention. When it also arrives in seven dial colours and with a texture I have a known weakness for, I pay a lot of attention.
Trematic is not a new name, even if it is a newly active one. The original Trematic was a Geneva house that built moon-phase and triple-calendar watches through the 1950s and 1960s before closing in the 1980s, another casualty of the quartz crisis. Daniele Campagnano acquired the name in 2022 and has been rebuilding it with a clear idea of what a revived brand should do: borrow the proportions and the mood of the old catalogue, then build the watch to modern standards.
The ZY6 is the purest expression of that idea. It is a 38 millimetre automatic that sits somewhere between a dress watch and a field watch, offered in seven colourways (Sacramento, Borgogna, Persiano, Tortora, Antico, Avorio, and Ossidiana) and on either a vegan leather strap or a steel bracelet made with Forstner. That is fourteen configurations of the same watch, and the range is wide enough that I genuinely think there is a combination in here for everyone.
A Dial Built in Three Layers
The dial is the reason to look twice. Trematic constructs it in three layers: a rough, grainy base in the centre, a circular brushed ring around it, and applied wedge-shaped hour markers sitting on top. I am a sucker for these grainy textured dials (it is becoming a documented problem), and the ZY6 uses the texture properly instead of treating it as a gimmick.
What makes it work is the contrast. The textured centre scatters light, the brushed ring catches it in clean arcs, and the two surfaces carry different tones of the same colour, so the dial reads as two-tone without ever looking busy. A fine crosshair runs through the centre, a date window sits at three o'clock, and the polished wedge markers and hands give the whole thing a crisp, mid-century edge. On paper it is a simple three-hander with a date. In reality there is a surprising amount of depth packed into it.
Legibility after dark is handled by Super LumiNova C3, and the domed sapphire crystal above it all carries anti-reflective coating on both the inside and the outside. That second detail matters more than it sounds, because a textured dial under a reflective dome is a texture you never actually get to see.
Seven Colours, and the Ones I Would Pick
The contrast between centre and ring is there in every version, but it does not land equally across the range. To my eye it comes through best in the more vibrant colours, where the gap between the grainy centre and the darker outer ring is at its widest.
Sacramento, the green, is the one I particularly love. The centre glows a rich teal green against a deep, almost black-green ring, and it is the colourway where the three-layer construction is most obvious at a glance. Borgogna does the same trick in burgundy, a colour that is still rarer than it should be on watches at this price, and Persiano delivers it in a dark, saturated blue for anyone who wants the effect in a more familiar register.
The rest of the range has its own appeal. Avorio is the ivory option and leans the most vintage, Tortora sits in soft, neutral taupe territory, and Ossidiana is the dark, stealthy one of the family. Antico is the wildcard, a pale rose pink that is far more wearable than it sounds. The lighter and darker dials are the safer choices and they will go with more of your wardrobe, but if the dial is the reason you are here (and it should be), I would push you towards the colours that show it off.
A Case of Sensible Proportions
The case does not try to compete with the dial, which is exactly the right call. It is brushed 316L stainless steel with polished accents, 38 millimetres across excluding the crown, 44 millimetres from lug to lug, and 11.1 millimetres thick including the domed crystal. Those are numbers that suit a very wide range of wrists, and the short lug span in particular means the ZY6 should sit compact and centred instead of overhanging.
Where it departs from dress watch convention is in how it is built. The crown is circular brushed and screws down, the caseback is screwed in, and water resistance is a full 100 metres. That caseback is worth a look too: brushed around the outside with a coin-edged rim, sandblasted in the centre, and finished with a polished logo carrying the historic Trematic anchor (a nice nod to the Geneva original). This is the dress and field hybrid idea made practical. It looks refined, and it is built for real use, not babied.
Swiss Power Under the Hood: Sellita SW 200-1
Inside is the Sellita SW 200-1, a Swiss automatic calibre with 26 jewels, a 28,800 vph (4 Hz) beat rate, and a 41 hour power reserve. At this point it is a microbrand favourite, and you will find it in a long list of watches from independent brands.
That familiarity is not a weakness. The SW 200-1 is a known quantity, parts are everywhere, and any competent watchmaker can service it without drama. The interesting part is the context. Plenty of microbrands fit this exact calibre and then charge noticeably more for the result, so finding it in a Swiss Made watch at $825 / €750 puts the ZY6 at one of the lowest price points out there for this movement (and the rest of the watch has clearly not been cheapened to get there).
Strap or Bracelet: Why I Would Go Vegan Leather
Every ZY6 can be had two ways. The vegan leather strap version is $825 / €750, and the version on a steel bracelet produced in collaboration with Forstner is $930 / €850. Lug width is 20 millimetres, so the aftermarket is wide open either way.
I would most probably go with the strap. The colour-matched vegan leather makes the watch feel like one complete object, and by framing the dial in a related tone it pushes that centre and ring contrast forward instead of competing with it. On Sacramento, the green strap against the green dial is the look that sold me in the first place.
The bracelet is not the wrong answer. It tips the ZY6 towards its field watch side and makes sense if this is going to be your everyday piece through summer. It simply changes the character of the watch, and for me the strap version is the one where the design feels most resolved.
Why It’s Special
The ZY6 does not rely on one headline feature. It earns its place by getting a handful of things right at a price where most rivals get one or two.
- A Dial With Real Depth: three layers, two textures, and two tones of the same colour give the ZY6 a dial that looks considered from every angle, which is not something you can say about most watches under $1,000.
- Seven Colourways That Feel Distinct: from the vibrant Sacramento, Borgogna, and Persiano to the calmer Avorio, Tortora, and Ossidiana, plus the rose pink Antico, the range covers loud and quiet tastes without any filler.
- Swiss Made Value: a Sellita SW 200-1 in a Swiss Made watch at $825 / €750 is a strong spec-to-price ratio, especially as more microbrands using the same calibre move past the four-figure mark.
- Dress Looks, Tool Watch Build: 100 metres of water resistance, a screw-down crown, and double anti-reflective coating on a domed sapphire make this a far more capable daily wearer than its proportions suggest.
- A Five Year Warranty and Honest Pricing: Trematic covers the ZY6 for five years internationally, ships worldwide for free, and includes duties, taxes, and VAT in the listed price, so the number you see is the number you pay.
Verdict: The Deal Hiding in Plain Sight
The Trematic ZY6 is the kind of watch that makes you question what you have been paying elsewhere. It has a dial with genuine character, proportions that will suit almost anyone, a build that is tougher than it looks, and a Swiss movement that will be easy to live with for decades. None of that is unusual on its own. Getting all of it together, Swiss Made, at this price is.
At $825 / €750 on the vegan leather strap and $930 / €850 on the Forstner bracelet, I think this is one of the best deals in the microbrand space right now. It suits the collector who wants one versatile, well-built automatic as much as the one hunting for a characterful addition to the rotation.
My money would go on Sacramento, on the strap. The only real difficulty is that there are six other dials making a very reasonable case for themselves.
Specifications
- Brand: Trematic
- Model: ZY6 38 mm (Sacramento, Borgogna, Persiano, Tortora, Antico, Avorio, Ossidiana)
- Case Material: Brushed 316L stainless steel with polished details
- Case Dimensions: 38mm diameter excluding crown, 11.1mm thick including domed crystal, 44mm lug to lug, 20mm lug width
- Water Resistance: 100m, screw-down crown, screw-secured caseback
- Strap: Vegan leather strap or steel bracelet by Forstner
- Crystal: Domed sapphire with internal and external anti-reflective coating
- Movement: Sellita SW 200-1, Swiss automatic, 26 jewels, 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power Reserve: 41 hours
- Lume: Yes, Super LumiNova C3
- Limited Edition: No
- Warranty: 5 years, international
- Price: $825 / €750 on vegan leather strap, $930 / €850 on Forstner bracelet
More information about this exact watch model on Trematic.
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About Trematic ZY6: Key Questions Answered
What movement is inside the Trematic ZY6?
Every ZY6 runs the Sellita SW 200-1, a Swiss automatic calibre with 26 jewels, a 28,800 vph (4 Hz) beat rate, and a 41 hour power reserve. It is one of the most widely used movements among microbrands, which also means any competent watchmaker can service it. What makes it notable here is the price it arrives at, starting from $825 / €750.
Should I buy the Trematic ZY6 on the vegan leather strap or the Forstner bracelet?
The vegan leather strap version costs $825 / €750 and the Forstner bracelet version costs $930 / €850. My pick is the strap, because a colour-matched strap frames the two-tone dial and makes the watch read as one cohesive object. The bracelet is the better call if you want the ZY6 to lean sportier, and with 20mm lugs you can always add a strap later.
Is the Trematic ZY6 Swiss Made, and how water resistant is it?
Yes, the ZY6 carries the Swiss Made designation on the dial. It is rated to 100 metres of water resistance and uses a screw-down crown and a screw-secured caseback, so it is comfortably more capable than its dressy looks suggest. Trematic also backs it with a five year international warranty.
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